View Single Post
Old 05-07-2015, 05:43 PM   #24 (permalink)
aerohead
Master EcoModder
 
aerohead's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Sanger,Texas,U.S.A.
Posts: 15,861
Thanks: 23,922
Thanked 7,207 Times in 4,640 Posts
working windshield

Quote:
Originally Posted by BabyDiesel View Post
We all talk about our projects, sir. No harm in that I'm actually picking ideas from all you posted earlier!

I did not know bubble skirts even existed till you posted this. I don't know about them... wouldn't you want to fill the frnders till they were flush with the body, instead of "bubbling" them out? It seems like a recipe for slightly increased frontal area, along with being not as aerodynamic. I'll wait for you to prove me wrong

Edit: I did some more reading and they appear to be pretty aero friendly.

About the front skirts: You're link is extremely interesting! I did not know about air curtains. They may be too hard for the average lay person to do correctly, as you would almost need a wind tunnel to see the effect. I have a plan on solid front skirts, similar to basjoos's. In fact, his Aerocivic is my inspiration for continuing aero refinement.

First thing I would have to do is obtain skinnier rims with a higher offset. I am wanting to run 14x4 spare wheels with my tires, which would set them in a good ways. I eventually will run 165/65r14 Potenzas. Then, I want to build an aluminum frame to match the body contours, and use coroplast for covering. This will be hinged at the top, and I will have rollers on the frame. Inside the fender well and on the frame, I want to place rare earth magnets so that there is no chance of a strong side wind pulling them out while driving.



Crazy how they both have the same Cd.
This "optimized windshield" seems to have a steeper angle than my own. I wonder what penalties there are with a more layed back windshield like mine. Is there a certain way the windshield is shaped that is not shown in the drawing? It would make sense if the windshield pictured was pointed in the middle to redirect air to the sides.

I agree that the Citroen would be hard to see out of, and its rear aerodynamics leaves much to be desired. I am curious to know what benefits there are with a working windshield.

I have thought about building a platform, if you can imagine it, on top of my hood to relax the sharp angles from it to the windshield. I'll post a picture of what I mean to ease confusion
Here are some of the wind tunnel model configurations Lay tested.


Once the windshield header/A-pillar radius is 'enough' to get attached flow,no amount of further rounding will produce a drag reduction.It has reached 'saturation.' As to the angle,of course,the steeper the better up to the point where internal reflections interfere with outward vision.
Your windshield should be okay as it is.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
I built blisters for the hoods of the Dodge and Toyota trucks.I don't know if they do anything to lower drag,but I don't think they increase drag.Since I couldn't lay the glass back at a steeper angle,the blisters helped to relax the angle of the flow coming at them.Here is the Toyota

It flowed very well in the wind tunnel although I intend to widen it out to the edge of the fenders in hopes of slowing the flow a bit which will impact the side-view mirrors.
__________________
Photobucket album: http://s1271.photobucket.com/albums/jj622/aerohead2/
  Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to aerohead For This Useful Post:
BabyDiesel (05-08-2015)